Chicago Cubs Trade Deadline Approach
Patrick Mooney (theathletic.com)
It is late July, which means it's the perfect time for each team to decide what they are going to do at the trade deadline. Most teams fall into the category of being buyers or sellers. However, it may be different for this Chicago Cubs team.
After a big loss to the Red Sox, the Cubs are going to be six games under .500 and eight games behind the first place Milwaukee Brewers. However, going into this game against Boston, they were the only team in the NL Central with a positive run differential.
With the roster they have, they could fill in a few holes and potentially make a run for the division, which of course is the direction that starting pitcher Marcus Stroman wants to go. With the best run differential in the division, it could be easy to feel like they could easily make a run for a division title.
The Cubs could also sell their very expensive pieces in Stroman and Cody Bellinger and add to their prospect pool. A prospect pool that includes MLB Pipeline’s number seven overall prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong and Matt Mervis, who was with the team earlier in the year.
David Durochik/Diamond Images via Getty Images
With this team though, there seems to be a chance they just stay put at the deadline, and don’t make any big time moves. This is a very talented team as it sits right now with a number of top prospects expected to be up either this year or next to fill the holes on this team.
The Cubs seem to be a very top heavy team with talents like Stroman, Bellinger, Steele, etc, but have a couple of gaping holes on the roster including first base where they have struggled to find talent for a large part of the season. So, if they can fill them with young guys, they could be a competitive team.
They are also playing in a very weak NL Central, where one hot streak can win you the division. There are big downsides to both buying and selling for the Cubs. Buying could keep them at this mediocre place for a couple more years, and selling loses them any chance of taking advantage of weak division.
A lot of the top players on this team are fairly new, so maybe it would be in their best interest to just stick where they are for now and give their roster a chance to mesh this year before making any big moves. It would give them a good chance to see what they really have before moving people
